The use of an alerting device to indicate that a person wishes to enter a home or a commercial building is in widespread use. Typical alerting devices include hard-wired chimes, bells or buzzers that are located within a home or a building and that are activated by a person from the outside of the home or the building structure.
The use of portable alerting devices that can be easily moved from one location to another and that are easily attached to an inner surface of a structure e.g., an inner surface of a windowpane was not found in the prior art. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. Pat. No.INVENTORISSUED6,897,765Kaje24 May 20055,894,262McCavit, et al13 Apr. 19994,764,953Chern, et al16 Aug. 19883,624,646Weiss30 Nov. 1971
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,897,765 patent discloses a remote control device that when actuated by a user transmits a coded signal to a sensor. The sensor is associated with a doorbell that receives the signal and causes activation of the doorbell. The sensor has multiple settings which control operSation of the doorbell.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,262 patent discloses a doorbell circuit that detects when one of a plurality of doorbell switches is depressed and provides an audible indication for each specific doorbell switch that is depressed. The doorbell circuit includes a detector circuit that is connected in parallel across one of the doorbell switches.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,953 patent discloses an apparatus for providing remote answering of a doorbell. The apparatus includes a circuit for receiving a doorbell signal indicative that a doorbell switch has been actuated. An autodialing circuit is coupled to and is responsive to the receiving circuit and a telephone line for dialing a telephone number responsive to the doorbell signal. An alerting circuit generates an alert signal to be transmitted over the telephone line to the telephone number dialed by the autodialing circuit. The alert signal then alerts a party answering the remote telephone to the fact that the party is responding to a doorbell rather than a normal telephone call.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,646 patent discloses a thermometer/chime combination. The usual chime circuitry is modified to indicate the outdoor temperature during the period of time that the chime is not in actual use. Thus, the composite circuitry, which normally indicates the temperature, sounds the chime tone when an exterior pushbutton switch is activated.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates, reference may be made to the following remaining patents found in the search:
PATENT NO.INVENTORISSUED6,883,099Terrell, et al19 Apr. 20056,600,117Gretz29 Jul. 20033,587,094Scott22 Jun. 1971